Phenom II X3 710 vs AMD FX 4100-4300

steelodon

Senior member
Oct 29, 2007
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I'm considering a processor for a budget build because of a great motherboard I got earlier this year from Fry's. So far I have been looking on ebay for CPUs. Which one would make more sense cost - performance wise?
 

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
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What do you intend to do with your PC? Honestly, all chips listed are "extreme budget" and very low-end. The FX-4100 is from 2011, and 4300 from 2012, and were bottom-end 3-4 years ago. The Phenom I want to say is ~2008-2009.
 

escrow4

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2013
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I'd sell the board and pick up a Haswell Celeron and H81 board. Both would as fast if not faster in single-threaded tasks and dump way less heat.
 

waltchan

Senior member
Feb 27, 2015
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For $10-$15 more, FX-6300 is worth considering. Otherwise, FX-4300 is the #1 choice here, and it can be overclocked up to 4.20GHz base speed with 4.40GHz turbo
 

waltchan

Senior member
Feb 27, 2015
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An AM3+ mobo that can only handle 95W CPUs is NOT a "great" mobo. It's bottom-of-the-barrel. Better AMD mobos will handle 125W or 140W CPUs.
Not really, I disagree. A 95W TDP max motherboard has lower heat output, and putting in a 45W processor will make this board just as reliable as 125W ones.
 

waltchan

Senior member
Feb 27, 2015
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I'm considering a processor for a budget build because of a great motherboard I got earlier this year from Fry's. So far I have been looking on ebay for CPUs. Which one would make more sense cost - performance wise?
I assume it's a MSI 760GM-P34 FX board, right? I see this at Fry's all the time, and at one sale, it was FREE after rebate without any processor purchase. This one has core-unlocker function, and if you're looking for the cheapest CPU, try Phenom II X2 550 dual-core with unlocked multiplier, selling for $18 shipped, with 2/3 success-rate to unlock it as quad-core.
 
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Lyfer

Diamond Member
May 28, 2003
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Get a Pentium G3258 Combo instead. Save more $$$$ and pop in a cheap i5. Win.
 
Dec 30, 2004
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Get a Pentium G3258 Combo instead. Save more $$$$ and pop in a cheap i5. Win.

ummmm....he already has the mobo.

if you want it to be fast I would try to get the FX-4300, otherwise if want cheap (particularly if it's turned off most of the time) I would get the X3. However, fast is nothing to sneeze at these days so. I'd probably want the 4300
 

Essence_of_War

Platinum Member
Feb 21, 2013
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I'm considering a processor for a budget build because of a great motherboard I got earlier this year from Fry's. So far I have been looking on ebay for CPUs. Which one would make more sense cost - performance wise?

Of the listed cpu's your best bet is a the 4300. I wouldn't touch the 4100 by comparison, and with the possible exception of excellent prices on either high end phenom ii x6's or x4's, I would not bother with the phenom ii either.

Do you have a specific price point you're trying to fit within?
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
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From the listed choices, you should get the 4300.

What is the brand and model of the motherboard?
 

waltchan

Senior member
Feb 27, 2015
846
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FX-4100 is on its way priced between $35 and $45 shipped next year. I just purchased four for $45 shipped each plus the 8% eBay bucks cashback bonus. For $20 price difference from FX-4300, the FX-4100 can be a better value.
 

nenforcer

Golden Member
Aug 26, 2008
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AM3+ - why not an AMD FX-6300? That's about the best 95W processor you can put in it.

AM3 - I like the Phenom II X4 840T or X4 960T 95W Thuban processors. Still useable.
 
Dec 30, 2004
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AM3+ - why not an AMD FX-6300? That's about the best 95W processor you can put in it.

AM3 - I like the Phenom II X4 840T or X4 960T 95W Thuban processors. Still useable.

I'd probably want the top end safety overclocking the 4300 over the 6300
 

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
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I assume it's a MSI 760GM-P34 FX board, right? I see this at Fry's all the time, and at one sale, it was FREE after rebate without any processor purchase.

Too bad I missed that.

One day (just for fun) I want to build a computer out of as many free after rebate parts as possible. (Here is the FAR power supply I am going to use --> http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2328809&highlight=hec+350w+bronze )

The only things I don't think I will be able to get FAR are the CPU, RAM and Hard drive.

The CPU and RAM I could buy used. For the hard drive I will buy NOS --> http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2433743
 
Aug 11, 2008
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LOL, dafuq???

Get a G3258? Srsly guys? It is a toy.

IN GAMES: the FX 4300 is way better.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1265?vs=700

Spend some dough on a 7950 / 7970 / 280 / 280x or GTX 970 and stay away from the G3258.

Heck, get a 290 and never look back.

With a single gpu the results are pretty close actually. Plus you can overclock the pentium, but on a mb rated for 95 watts, i dont know how much you can get away with overclocking the 4300. Since he has the motherboard anyway though, I would not argue for selling it and getting a pentium. None of the choices listed are very good gaming processors actually. If the motherboard can handle it, I would get an FX6300 or one of the new 95 watt FX 8 core processors, 8320e I believe it is.
 

Erenhardt

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2012
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With a single gpu the results are pretty close actually. Plus you can overclock the pentium, but on a mb rated for 95 watts, i dont know how much you can get away with overclocking the 4300. Since he has the motherboard anyway though, I would not argue for selling it and getting a pentium. None of the choices listed are very good gaming processors actually. If the motherboard can handle it, I would get an FX6300 or one of the new 95 watt FX 8 core processors, 8320e I believe it is.

About 4.5GHz. I overclocked 6300 to 4.4 GHz on 95W uATX am3+ el cheapo 3+1VRM mobo. The CPU throttles under prime stress testing, but gaming runs full speed. It is running like that 2 or 3 years.
 
Aug 11, 2008
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Point is that the pentium has a lot more overclocking headroom than the FX. I am not trying to argue for a pentium as a great gaming processor, but I hardly think it is fair to call it a "toy" compared to FX4300. The pentium will in fact beat it in a lot of games, especially when both are overclocked to the max. But, as someone else said, both are in fact really low end. Thus my recommendation to try to move up to 6300 or 8320e.
 

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
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Point is that the pentium has a lot more overclocking headroom than the FX. I am not trying to argue for a pentium as a great gaming processor, but I hardly think it is fair to call it a "toy" compared to FX4300. The pentium will in fact beat it in a lot of games, especially when both are overclocked to the max. But, as someone else said, both are in fact really low end. Thus my recommendation to try to move up to 6300 or 8320e.

Yes, the 6300 is a good CPU.

I just wonder what the rest of his set-up will look like?
 
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Gikaseixas

Platinum Member
Jul 1, 2004
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OP seems to be on a tight budget. I would agree that a FX6300 would be great but if there's not flexibility in budget then get a FX4300